Canceled Municipal Meeting To Be Held On Nov. 29th

Published: November 20, 2018 @ 5:00 PM EST

The second November Mayor & Council meeting which was canceled on last Thursday due to snow-related matters has been rescheduled for Thursday, November 29th at 7 p.m.

The meeting has on its agenda a public hearing on the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, Business of the Month, certificates for the Knights of Columbus & U-12 RPYBSL Fall Ball team, Ordinance 2555 (link), discussion of the 2018 Best Practice Inventory, and a vote on Resolution# 323-18. This resolution will authorize the execution of an amended Redeveloper’s Agreement between the municipality and Roselle Park VP, LLC for the site locally known as the Romerovski property (link). It was tabled at the November 1st municipal meeting.

Two matters that are not on the agenda but are anticipated to occur have to do with members of the public on the dais and the redeveloper’s agreement for the site known as the Sullivan property at the intersection of Westfield Avenue and Chestnut Street.

As is tradition, November 29th’s meeting will have the current governing body inviting Mayor-elect Joseph Signorello III and Fifth Ward Councilman-elect Robert Mathieu to join them on the dais. The two as-yet not-sworn-in officials will be invited into closed session discussions.

Additionally, it has been reported that representative for Capodagli Property Company – the developer of the Meridia project at Sullivan – might also be in attendance on November 29th formally requesting that the governing body vote on the Redeveloper’s Agreement to take place that evening even though it is not – as of this date – on the agenda (link). Mayor & Council would have to vote to suspend policy and include the matter as a resolution and, if approved, would approve the redeveloper’s agreement with 370 to 380 residential units and commercial space on the ground floor.

This development is now more an issue of importance since – according to the Conditional Redeveloper’s Agreement approved in September – the deadline date to finalize or reject a final agreement is January 18, 2019. Current Mayor Carl Hokanson has been an advocate for the development and Mayor-elect Joseph Signorello III and Councilman-elect Robert Mathieu have criticized the current proposed development of 370 to 380 residential units. Most recently, Mayor-elect Signorello stated, “I don’t think the first Meridia development was a good deal and I don’t think the proposed second Meridia is a good deal either . . . It’s too many apartments. It’s not enough commercial space and I don’t like the other buildings they’ve made around NJ.” (link)

Mayor-elect Signorello will be sworn into office on January 1, 2019.

The November 29th municipal meeting will be in council chambers of the Roselle Park Municipal Complex located at 110 East Westfield Avenue.